As the quarter mark of the season approaches, they are stuck in mediocrity.

Seventeen games in, the Celtics are barely above .500 at 9-8 and have been unable to get anything resembling consistency going.

They have failed to win more than three games in a row and have glaring problems that show no signs of going away.

With a roster loaded with players who weren’t around last season, a grace period was needed to allow for the Celtics to build chemistry and cohesiveness.

And while it is much too ealry to push any panic buttons, there should be concern about how the Celtics have looked in the first quarter of a season that began with such high expectations.

Their defense has taken several steps back, allowing 97.5 points per game, which ranks 15th in the NBA. That is not the neighborhood where the Celtics have been residing since Kevin Garnett came aboard in 2007.

The rebounding remains woeful with the Celtics last in the league with 37.4 per game, nearly two rebounds a game behind the 29th place Miami Heat.

And, as Coach Doc Rivers pointed out last week, the Celtics have been a soft team, getting pushed aside with ease by opponents who cruise to the basket night after night.

The Celtics, who are trailing three teams in the Atlantic Division, need some help as the second quarter of the season draws near.

One addition will be guard Avery Bradley, who was such a key to their revival in the second half of the 2011-12 season with his defense.

Bradley, still recovering from double shoulder surgery, will certainly cut down on the penetration opposing guards are getting, which will free up the frontcourt defenders from leaving their man so close to the basket.

There is, however, still a huge hole that must be plugged up when it comes to rebounding and interior toughness.

The front line needs a lot of help in that department, which is why the name of free agent Kenyon Martin keeps popping up.

The first player taken in the 2000 NBA Draft is waiting for a call from any team after coming off the Los Angeles Clippers’ bench to back up Blake Griffin last season.

Martin has had some knee issues in the past and turns 35 at the end of this month. But he was an effective reserve for the Clippers (5.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks in 22 minutes) after coming home following a short stint with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China.

There are not, it appears, many options for the salary-cap strangled Celtics, and perhaps bringing in Martin might be their best alternative at this point.

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But that isn’t going to help them rebound any better than they are now. Chris Wilcox has been up and down, Jared Sullinger is getting adjusted to life in the NBA and Jason Collins has seen better days.

The Celtics will be back at practice today and Tuesday, preparing to play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night at home before back-to-back games with the Philadelphia 76ers.

They will be trying to rebound from a loss in Milwaukee on Saturday that came after the Celtics had the Bucks in a quick 17-0 hole.

That game sums up what the Celtics have been all about so far this season — inconsistent and unable to sustain anything.